Coffee Process
Planting
The coffee bean is the seed of the plant. They are typically planted in shaded nurseries to start, being watered frequently and shaded from bright sunlight until they are hearty enough to be permanently planted.
Harvesting the Cherries
It takes approximately 3-4 years for the planted coffee trees to bear fruit. The fruit, when ripe, will turn a bright, deep red.
In most countries, the crop is picked by hand. Otherwise it is a mechanized process. There are two ways to harvest:
Strip picked – All of the cherries are stripped off the branch at the same time.
Selectively picked – only the ripe cherries are harvested and they are picked by hand.
Processing the Cherries
Processing can happen in one of two ways:
Dry Method – The picked cherries are spread out on huge surfaces to dry in the sun. They are raked and turned throughout the day, and then covered at night or during rain to prevent them from getting wet. This process may take several weeks.
Wet Method – The picked cherries are passed through a pulping machine to separate the skin and pulp from the bean. They are then passed through a series of rotating drums which separate them by size. Afterwards they are transported to large, water-filled fermentation tanks. While resting in the tanks, naturally occurring enzymes will cause this layer to dissolve. When fermentation is complete, the beans are rinsed and then are ready for drying.
Drying the Beans
If they’ve been processed via the Wet Method, the pulped and fermented beans must be dried to approximately 11% moisture. They can be sun-dried or machine dried.
The dried beans are known as parchment coffee and are warehoused in jute or sisal bags until they are readied for export.
Milling the Beans
Before being exported, parchment coffee is processed in the following manner:
Hulling machinery removes the parchment layer from wet processed coffee. Hulling dry processed coffee refers to removing the entire dry husk
Polishing is an optional process where any silver sking that
remains on the beans after hulling is removed by machine. While polished beans are considered superior to unpolished, there is really little difference between the two.
Grading and Sorting is done by size and weight, and beans are also reviewed for color flaws or other imperfections.
Beans are sized by being passed through a series of screens. Typically the bean size is represented on a scale of 10 to 20. The number represents the size of a round hole’s diameter in terms of 1/64th’s of an inch i.e. a 10 bean would be the approximate size of a hole in a diameter of 10/64ths of a inch.
Defective beans are removed either by hand or by machinery, whether it be unacceptable size or color, over-fermented, insect damaged, unhulled, etc.
Exporting the Beans
The milled beans, which are now referred to as green coffee, are loaded onto ships in either jute or sisal bags loaded in shipping containers.
Tasting the Coffee
Coffee is repeatedly tested for quality and taste. The process is referred to as cupping.
First, the taster (cupper) evaluates the beans for their overall visual quality. The beans are roasted in a small lab roaster, immediately ground and infused in boiling water with carefully-controlled temperature. The cupper nosed the brew to experience it’s aroma which is essential in judging it’s quality.
After letting the coffee rest for a couple minutes, the cupper breaks the grounds at the top of the cup. The coffee is nosed before tasting begins.
The cupper then slurps a spoonful with a quick inhalation. The objective is to spray the coffee evenly over the cupper’s taste buds, and then weigh it on the tongue before spitting it out.
Roasting the Coffee
Roasting transforms green coffee into the aromatic brown beans we are used to seeing. The beans are kept moving throughout the entire process to keep them from burning.
When they reach an internal temperature of about 400 degrees, they being to turn brown and the caffeol, a fragrant oil locked inside the beans, begins to emerge. This process is called pyrolysis and produces the flavor and aroma of the coffee we drink.
After roasting, the beans are immediately cooled either by air or water. Roasting is generally performed in the importing countries because freshly roasted beans must reach the consumer quickly.
Grinding the Coffee
The objective of a proper grind is to get the most flavor in a cup of coffee. How coarse or fine the coffee is ground depends on the brewing method.
The length of time the grounds will be in contact with water determines the ideal grade of grind.
Generally, the finer the grind, the more quickly the coffee should be prepared. That’s why coffee ground for an espresso machine is much finer than coffee brewed in a drip system.
Brewing the Coffee
Brewing is the final and crucial step in the coffee process, where the magic happens. It's the moment when carefully selected beans, ground to perfection, meet water to create a symphony of flavors and aromas. With precision and technique, we unlock the true essence of coffee.
During brewing, water extracts the delicate oils and compounds from the coffee grounds, transforming them into a liquid masterpiece. Whether you choose the gentle pour-over method, the boldness of a French press, or the convenience of a drip coffee maker, each technique imparts its own unique character to the final cup.
The art of brewing lies in finding the perfect balance - the right water temperature, the ideal grind size, and the proper brew time. It's an exploration of variables, where small adjustments can make a big difference. The result? A cup of coffee that embodies the richness, complexity, and nuances of the beans themselves.